An under-construction road in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh collapsed on camera after a guy chose to “uproot” it with his bare hands to reveal departmental corruption.

The 7-kilometre-long road, developed under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), is supposed to connect Puranpur with the district’s Bhagwantapur village.

A now-viral video from the event shows a Bhagwantapur resident using his hands to peel through a fragile coating of bitumen. In the video, the man can also be heard pleading with authorities to take action against the contractor who was awarded the contract to build the road using public funds for Rs 3 crore 80 lakh.

According to Shailendra Choudhary, an assistant engineer with the Rural Engineering Department, the issue was brought to the notice of administrative officials, who visited the location and had the poor-quality road fixed.

According to the media report, the newly constructed road was destroyed last week when a vehicle used its brakes.

The building agency has now been given orders for laying road after their apparent incompetence was exposed by locals, who plan to protest the usage of substandard materials involved.

Not a first

According to media reports, villagers in Pilibhit had already questioned the quality of two distinct roads built by the PWD. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA earlier scolded a contractor for compromising the durability of his project.

Several other state political groups, including the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress members, blasted the BJP for endemic corruption, which it claimed had been eradicated before retaining power for a second consecutive term.

“Instead of focussing the on the quality of roads, road-construction under the Yogi government is carried out keeping the quality of the contractor’s pockets in mind. Case in point, the condition of the road built at a cost of about 4 crores in Bhagwantpur under the Prime Minister’s Road Scheme in Pilibhit [which goes to show] the extent to which corruption has expanded its roots under Adityanath government.”

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